


Sugar and Cream

by Miss_Vanderwaal



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Gen, Theory fic (sort of), post 7X10
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-07 15:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10363995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Vanderwaal/pseuds/Miss_Vanderwaal
Summary: "Why are you being nice to me?", she wanted to ask him, no superiority games. Instead, she just pinned her eyes onto his for a while – that, for once, weren’t squinting at her.- Do you think you can care about someone and not know it?Caleb gazed at the white floor of that hospital room for a second and his lips curved into a tiny smile.- I'm starting to think so.(Pseudo-theory based off of a wild speculation: What if Caleb and Mona were brother and sister?)





	

**Author's Note:**

> "What if Caleb and Mona were brother and sister?". That was something I heard in the PLL After Show. The girls didn't delve much into it, in fact it wasn't even a theory, really. It was more of a random wondering, but it was enough to drive me INSANE. I spent days, since 7x10 aired, literally obsessing over it and trying to come up with a way of making it seem at least a tiny bit plausible in a fic. 
> 
> I honestly suck at connecting the dots, at "doing the math" of the show (at writing anything that's not fluff and romance, basically), but in the end I really enjoyed thinking about the possibility of Caleb and Mona being related. So, please, give this a chance and tell me what you think. It would mean a whole lot because I'm actually proud of it, in a way :)

   Mona remembered the jolt of pain that she had felt when her ex-boyfriend of at least three eras ago stabbed her in her low back; she remembered agonizing on the floor of that shack by herself for a few minutes, while her phone rang again and again; and, of course, she remembered crying because she obviously hadn't had the strength to reach it and answer it.

   _My good intentions will end up like trash, again_ , she had thought while her vision got even more blurry. After all, she'd had basically one job to do, and she hadn't done it. But she hadn't really begun preparing to get yelled at right then, because she genuinely believed she wouldn’t be able to make it out of that place.

   She did make it out of there, though, thanks to someone who had come bursting through the door when her eyelids were starting to close slowly; someone who she had never thought would come to her rescue.

   Noel had been decapitated, she was told once she was out of the ICU – in the next afternoon –, and his head had rolled down a staircase to face three of the four girls, like in a B horror movie. Mona almost laughed at that, but soon cried again because the fourth girl, the one that didn’t get to stare at Noel’s wide and lifeless eyes, had been shot in the chest and was lying on a hospital bed at the moment as well, but with only a twelve percent chance of surviving. The pain hit Mona beyond her sore muscles this time, unlike any other physical discomfort that she had felt in the past.

   Caleb was the one telling her everything, crestfallen but with surprisingly dry eyes; Mona couldn’t figure out if he was tired of crying or if he hadn’t allowed himself to do it yet. Either way, he was doing a pretty good job at not letting desperation take over him.

\- Noel wasn’t the one who shot Spencer – Caleb said as a mantra started echoing in Mona’s mind ( _it’s my fault, it’s my fault, it’s my fault_ ) –, and even if he had been…

\- I believe that self-deprecation is sometimes important to human growth – Mona spat, bitterly. – Do you mind?

   Caleb seemed to ignore Mona’s need to grieve over someone who she knew so little about, yet so much; someone apparently unbreakable; someone who she had failed to protect.

\- It’s not your fault – he reached for her hand.

   His touch felt way too foreign; she wasn’t able to relax at it, although something prevented her from moving her hand away. Caleb must’ve read the awkwardness in Mona’s eyes, because he soon let go of her hand.

  _Why are you being nice to me?_ , she wanted to ask him, no superiority games. Instead, she just pinned her eyes onto his for a while – that, for once, weren’t squinting at her.

\- Do you think you can care about someone and not know it?

   Caleb gazed at the white floor of that hospital room for a second and his lips curved into a tiny smile. By the time he looked back at her, Mona wasn’t sure if she was talking just about Spencer anymore.

\- I'm starting to think so.

 –   

    Mona’s mom stepped into the room just as Caleb was heading out. They both smiled at each other and Caleb fondly touched Leona’s shoulder before closing the door behind him. Leona looked over the same shoulder and the smile was still on her face. Mona was able to read her mother’s mind easily. _He seems like such a nice boy_.

   At first, Mona thought it was simply gratitude because he had been the one to come with her to the hospital, but the look on Leona’s eyes seemed like the one most parents have when they want to say they approve the person that their child is dating or about to start dating.

   Mona’s mind went on yellow alert. _Oh, no_ , she almost said to her mom, _don’t you even cogitate. There’s way too many girls orbiting around that guy. His ego doesn’t need anymore stroking._ Gladly, though, the conversation went on a totally different direction.

\- You know what's funny? - Leona’s tone was as casual as possible - Ever since Caleb walked in here with you, I couldn't stop thinking about James' little boy. 

   Mona felt her blood getting cold instantly; it happened every rare time she heard her father's name. Maybe a conversation about her love life wouldn't be so weird, after all. 

   The existence of her father's first child - whose name was also Caleb - had never been a secret to Mona. Even though she had never gotten to meet that child, she had always known that there was an age difference of a handful of months between the two of them - a year, tops. But the truth was that she had never really thought about her father. What was there to think about, anyway? She didn’t remember him. He had left when Mona was nearly two years old and she was sure that all the birthday and Christmas cards he had sent her, over the following few years, were recycled paper by now. He and Leona didn’t get married, therefore Mona didn’t even inherit his last name. He was nothing but a blank filler on her birth certificate.

   Consequently, she had never really thought about the fact of having an unknown half-brother, either. She had always felt indifferent to the whole thing, to be honest. Well, at least until the moment.

\- It _is_ funny - Mona replied in a low voice as she realized that, for the first time, besides uneasy, she was starting to feel a bit hopeful about it all. Excited, even. 

 –

    When Hanna showed up to visit her, later that day, Mona’s heart was pounding for any kind of concrete answer.

\- I heard that Spencer made it out of surgery number two okay – she smiled as the blonde stepped closer to her bedside.

\- She did. There’s gonna be another one tomorrow, first thing in the morning, but she’s stable now – Hanna let out a small laugh. – She’s still a Hastings, even if just partly, so she’s gonna keep kicking everyone’s asses, even death’s.

   As much as Mona was relieved for Spencer, her attention was drawn to the middle of that sentence; _Spencer was only partly a Hastings_. Their lives were for sure just one very sick soap-opera.

\- Han? – Mona called her softly, hoping to step slowly into another topic, perhaps equally mind-blowing. – I know this is gonna sound weird, but do you remember when Caleb went road tripping to find his dad?

   Hanna took a couple of seconds to respond, frowning.

\- Yeah, why?

   Mona took a deep breath, avoiding eye contact for a moment. She was, for some reason, terrified of sounding arrogant.

\- I don’t think you ever told me his name. Of course, you had no reason to, it was none of my business, but I’m just curious.  

\- I never told you because you never asked – Hanna shrugged and smiled, speaking just like Mona’s mom, as if it was the most casual thing. – It’s Jamie.

   Mona stared blankly at the sheet covering her from the waist down after hearing that name. It was certainly no DNA test but it was two letters away from belonging to a mutual father. She laughed as well, briefly, as tears gathered inside her eyes.

\- What’s wrong? – Hanna’s eyes were suddenly filled with concern – Why do you ask?

   Mona took another deep breath.

\- I talked about my father with you just once when we were kids, if I’m not mistaken – she waited a second to see if Hanna would recall the name, and the blonde frowned again, as if trying to figure out what one thing had to do with the other. - James Doyle. 

   A heavy silence lingered around them after Mona pronounced the man’s last name. Hanna’s eyes widened and her lips parted just barely.

\- Are you saying what I think you’re saying?

   Mona nodded once more.

\- The motherfucker left Caleb, then left me – she stated pretty calmly, although not knowing where the insult came from. She had no desire of seeing her father or talking to him, but she didn’t classify it as hate or repulse. – He basically majored in child abandonment.

\- And then he stoll from a church donation box! – Hanna added, seemingly indignant now as well.

   Another laugh, a more real one, got out of Mona. It was all ridiculously funny. 

\- Didn’t know about that.

   Hanna slightly shook her head, just like she used to when she was younger, after letting something adorably silly slip out.

\- Forget it – she sat carefully on the edge of Mona’s bed and took the brunette’s left hand in her right one. – He really is a motherfucker.

   Mona giggled one more time, glad that the blonde was there to cheer her up. 

\- Thank you.

   Hanna stroke the back of Mona’s hand with her thumb.

\- God, Mon, why wasn’t this clarified sooner? I mean, you guys didn’t deserve to hate each other for so long.

   Mona gazed down at her own hand in Hanna's, rethinking of how many times she had given Caleb unfriendly looks, of how much time she had spent being jealous of him; a boy who had been literally abandoned by the same man who had abandoned her. 

\- I know. But if I’m lucky enough, it’s not too late.

 –

    A couple of days later, Mona was released from the hospital and ready to tell Caleb her side of the story. Spencer had woken up, everybody was less tense so it was pretty much the right time for Mona to politely request a DNA test, yet secretly – Hanna being the only one to know. There was no need to alarm anyone else beforehand.

   Caleb didn’t yell, didn’t get angry, didn’t call her _Crazy Mona_ , didn’t even squint at her. He basically just listened to her with a light frown in the middle of his forehead - which simply meant concern given the unusual situation -, agreeing shortly after taking all that information in. And something in the way he did it told Mona that the possibility wasn’t as new to him as it was to her. 

   In the next morning, they were side by side at the Rosewood’s DNA Center while cotton swabs were running up and down their inner cheeks.

   Forty-eight hours later, they were side by side on the couch in Mona’s old living room. Mona’s mom was working and there were coffee mugs on the coffee table. Mona remembered that Caleb liked black coffee almost nauseatingly sugared. They both had a copy of the results in their hands.

\- Well, there you have it – Caleb sighed, dropping his sheet of paper next to his coffee mug.

   Mona let out a small laugh and copied his move.

\- You know what the worst part of it is? – she asked in a relaxed tone as well, facing her lost and found half-brother.

   Caleb reached for the little cream jug and carefully poured some into Mona’s coffee, just like he had done days ago.

\- What?

\- My mind keeps flashing back to the night we put on a show for Melissa. And now the memory makes me want to go brush my teeth even more than it used to – she took a sip of her coffee. – I might develop OCD.

\- Gosh, thank you so much – Caleb joked. – I really needed to remember that.

   With that, the room was filled with their laughter, which, according to Mona, went well together much like sugar and cream in a cup of coffee.  

   During that moment, their past seemed truly insignificant - inexistent, even -, and at the end of it, they both had tears in their eyes, maybe because of that sudden fit of laughter, or maybe because of that singular little reunion, that had secretly been very much desired by the two of them. No one would ever be able to tell. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So, the fact that we know a great amount of nada about Mona's dad (which is actually ridiculous) made it a lot easier for me to come up with this story. Also, the fact that Caleb's dad's name is Jamie came very in handy, since I've always fantasized that Mona's dad's name would be James Vanderwaal. 
> 
> Lastly, I just want to say that the coffee scene between Caleb and Mona is worthy of praise. To me, it was brilliant in a way that I can't even explain. All I can think of after watching it about a thousand times (and counting) is: it exists for a reason. If not to tell us that Caleb and Mona are related, then it's to make me start liking Caleb as a character.


End file.
